Education

HILLSVILLE – Carroll County High School’s intercession classes went out with a blast the week of March 5 as students enjoyed activities ranging from field trips to live music and rocket experiments.

CCHS Intercession Coordinators Jay Holderfield, Debbie Robinson and Britt Mundy took the interests of all students into mind when coming up with a plan designed to help students think outside the box and to engage them in events that would spark intellectual interest and promote creativity.

FRIES — Fries School Principal John Alexander has been nominated for the 2017-2018 national LifeChanger of the Year award.

Sponsored by the National Life Group Foundation, LifeChanger of the Year recognizes and rewards the K-12 educators and school district employees across the United States, “who are making a difference in the lives of students by exemplifying excellence, positive influence and leadership.”

Alexander was nominated by an anonymous colleague, according to a news release.

Galax High School students were presented with a “Walk Up, Not Out” program in the auditorium on March 14, designed to promote school safety and honor the 17 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting victims in Parkland, Fla., one month earlier.

The program included videos, one by GHS students and one by the Sandy Hook Promise Group, a clip of CNN’s Anderson Cooper reading the names of the Parkland dead and words from Principal Justin Iroler.

INDEPENDENCE — Lack of funding from multiple resources will result in a tight budget this year for the Grayson County School Board, but it is already planning ahead for more improvements in the upcoming fiscal year.

HILLSVILLE – A mutated strain of the Zika virus is causing the infected to exhibit zombie-like behavior, and it’s up to a team of middle school students to handle the outbreak.

It’s not the plot of a movie; it’s the scenario presented to students at Carroll County Middle School, as they participated in a project that demonstrated all the effort and hard work that it takes to deal with public safety and combat severe or dangerous situations.

As the city moves forward with plans to renovate and expand Galax Elementary, what will become of the property the school system initially bought to build a new school?

The school system bought 62 acres of land near Fries Road that was originally going to be the site of a new GES, before cost estimates made it clear that renovating and upgrading the existing building would be much more feasible.

At a recent school board meeting, Superintendent Bill Sturgill said he still felt good about the land purchase, and talked about alternative plans for its use.

A loan will pay for the first phase of an expansion and remodeling project at Galax Elementary, after city council took action to approve a bond ordinance.

At their December meeting, council members learned that the city had been approved for a project loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In January, the city began the process of securing a bridge loan to use as working funds during the GES project’s construction. The USDA loan would then be used to pay off the bridge loan and serve as the loan’s mortgage.

HILLSVILLE – Carroll County Public Schools is re-emphasizing the importance of maintaining a secure and safe learning environment by expanding modernized, state-of-the art security systems across the district.

The measures aren’t in response to recent school shootings, like the incident in Parkland, Fla., but have been an ongoing security measure. The use of these types of systems was first introduced to Carroll schools in 2014, and has been in daily use at Carroll County Middle School (CCMS) for approximately the past 2 years.

HILLSVILLE – At its second meeting to discuss the operating budget for the upcoming 2018-2019 school year, the Carroll County School Board heard a report on how education is linked to economic development.